for those with a heavy stereo system...

[jamie]

are you running the normal oem alternator? if not, where did you get a different alternator from, and how many amps is it? if you are running a normal alternator...what are you doing about the power issues. thanks
jamie

[Jason]

Well, i was having slight dimming issues running 1000 watts so i got a 1 farad capacitor the other day. PROBLEM SOLVED. other than that my stock alt is just fine, with the heat and stereo going full blast i see VERY VERY slight bouncing in the voltage needle. SO slight its barely noticable.

[jamie]

where does your needle usually rest?
thanks for the reply. if you notice in gen tech. my car died on me tonight.

[John D.]

I am running about 1000 watts also and I can really dim the lights if I crank it. I am on my second stock alt. in a 2 year period and I think it is crapping out on me too. I may need to look into a cap and a high amp alternator.

[RSpro]

I was having problems with the lights dimming and voltage boucing till I got my cap and that semmed to solve the problem.

[MTMike]

The voltage needle should normally sit at 13.8 when the car is idling and warm.

A cap will only solve the lights dimming problem, it will not solve an alternator that's underpowered for a high-power system. You need either a higher output alternator or a auxilary battery setup

-Mike

[mr_man]

my stock altenator seems to be doing good. it dips pretty good when i have my system turned up, but i don't drive with it that loud, so i havn't had any problems.

[ January 08, 2002: Message edited by: mr_man ]</p>

[massivefirebird]

My stock alt really struggles... so I don't usually keep it loud for long... but that's because of my pulley.

My stereo was fine with a 1 farad cap before, as long as I didn't clip.

[96firebird311]

www.powermastermotorsports.com look at the high output alternators. A cap is a cheap way to keep your lights from dimming. Actually, the cap is just one more strain on your alt. A high output alternator is ALWAYS better. The key is to look at the IDLE output of the alt. Some high output alts. say 150amps or whatever but they put out only like 10amps at idle, which is where your car spends a lot of its time.

[jamie]

how is 64 amps at idle. is that a good amount of amps to be putting out at idle. i'm kind of clueless. the alternator is 160 amps total.

[John D.]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by jamie:
how is 64 amps at idle. is that a good amount of amps to be putting out at idle. i'm kind of clueless. the alternator is 160 amps total.<hr></blockquote>

Yeah 64 amps at idle is pretty good. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

[ January 09, 2002: Message edited by: John D. ]</p>

[massivefirebird]

Thanks for the link! I need one badly!

[img]graemlins/fluffy.gif[/img]

[jamie]

i ordered my alternator from mr alternator.
http://www.mralternator.com
that should work. its not listed on the site though. i talked to them through email and then ordered over the phone.

[CHEVMARO6]

Stock Alt.

I am currently running 1 JL W3-D2, at 4 oms, in a custom built WAVE BOX with a Rockford Fosgate Punch Series 500.2 bridged (673 watts) and when the bass hits I get a slight light dimming.
I can live with it for now. I am saving up for some 20's and screens. [img]graemlins/fluffy.gif[/img]

[DrMilhouse]

the stereo link is in the sig. It's a little bigger now, not much. I have been running the stock alternator for quite some time now. RMS on my stereo would be just over 1000 with peak output to be around 2200. I'm not usually that loud with it. I have another alternator that I need to have rebuilt for it, I think it was 180 amps. That alternator is out of a GM ambulance. Again, for now I'm on the stock alternator and a 1.2 farad cap. I never really ran this with out a cap, and my lights will dim if I have it cranked, but I grew out of 'cranked all the time' a few years ago [img]smile.gif[/img] that's probably helping the alternator as much or more than the cap.

Someone mentioned that a cap is harder on the alternator. I would like to know what factual information you have to back that up. It is an extra draw on the alternator as with any electrical component, but it helps smooth out those spikes which are hardest on the alternator.

HTH